Chapter 2 The ASCA National Model Developing a Comprehensive Developmental School Counseling Program

Chapter 2The ASCA National

Model

Developing a Comprehensive Developmental School Counseling

Program

The ASCA National Standards• THE AGE-OLD QUESTION– What do school counselors DO?

• Current problems in school counseling programs include the adding on of:

– Non-school counselor responsibilities– Master schedule duties– Testing coordinators– Detention room coverage– Discipline– Classroom coverage– Clerical responsibilities

The ASCA National Standards• THE NEW QUESTION SHOULD BE…..

• “How are students different because of the school counseling program?”

The ASCA National Standards• The American School Counselor Association

(ASCA) published the National Standards for School Counseling Programs in 1997.

• The ASCA National Standards were created to: – Provide school counselors with a framework for how to

develop and implement a comprehensive, developmental program.

– Help shape the identity of professional school counselors.

The ASCA National Standards• National Standards for School Counseling Programs

(Campbell & Dahir, 1997) was published as a standardized basis for comprehensive, developmental guidance services.

• The three domains for the these standards are:• Academic• Career• Personal/Social

The ASCA National Model• Building upon the ASCA National Standards,

leaders in the school counseling profession developed the ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs.

• The ASCA National Model serves as an exemplar to guide school counselors in how to implement the National Standards in their schools.

• The national model’s framework exhorts school counselors to address the needs of all students, rather than a select few.

The ASCA National Model• The ASCA National Model is comprised of four

overarching components and four fundamental themes.– Components: foundation, delivery, management, and

accountability.– Themes: leadership, advocacy, systemic change, and

collaboration/teaming.

The ASCA National Model

Themes of the ASCA National Model

• Leadership– Professional school counselors strive to:• Close the achievement gap.• Ensure that all students have access to challenging

academic coursework.• Enact system-wide changes.


• Advocacy– Professional school counselors strive to:• Assess the needs of the student population.• Address the needs of all students.• Remove any barriers to student success.• Set high expectations for student achievement.


• Systemic Change– Professional school counselors strive to:• Identify areas in need of improvement through

data-driven programming.• Advocate for school-wide changes (e.g.,

instructional practices, school philosophy, policies, procedures) to help increase student achievement.


• Collaboration/Teaming– Professional school counselors strive to:• Work collaboratively with stakeholders (i.e, parents,

teachers, administrators, community organizations) to meet the needs of all students.• Develop effective working relationships with

stakeholders.

Program Foundation• Addresses the “what” of the school counseling

program.• Outlines what every student should know and be

able to do as a result of the school counseling program.

• Includes standards and competencies in the three school counseling domains: academic, career, and personal-social.

Program Foundation• Includes the school counseling program’s

philosophy and mission statement.– Philosophy: A set of beliefs about education and the

ability of students to learn that provides a vision for the program (should be created in conjunction with stakeholders).

– Mission Statement: Describes the overarching goals of the program and is aligned with the individual school’s and school system’s missions.

Delivery System• Addresses the “how” of the school counseling

program.• Includes the following elements: guidance

curriculum, individual student planning, responsive services, and systems support.

• Components of the delivery system can include both direct and indirect services.– Direct services: individual counseling, small group

counseling, and classroom guidance.– Indirect services: support direct services.

Delivery System: Guidance Curriculum

• Provides preventative services to large groups:– Classrooms– Parent workshops– Peer helper programs– Large events (i.e., senior events)– Transition orientation for new students

• Usually delivered by the professional school counselor or a classroom teacher in consultation with the counselor.

• Classroom guidance units are age-appropriate, sequential, and usually centered around a topic or theme.

Delivery System: Individual Student Planning

• Encourages school counselors to:– Help students, individually or in small groups,

plan and monitor their academic progress.– Use test information and other data to help

students set and achieve immediate (e.g., course selection) and long-term (e.g., college, career) goals.

Delivery System: Responsive Services

• Includes:– Individual counseling– Group counseling– Consultation– Referral– Crisis response– Peer facilitation


• Individual counseling:– Meets both reactive and proactive student

needs.– Professional school counselor’s should not

counsel so many students individually that the rest of the student body is shortchanged.


• Group counseling:– Meets both reactive and proactive student needs.– Often offered throughout the school-year to help

students who have common needs through explorations of their attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and feelings.

– Is time and cost-efficient.– Outcome research has indicated that group counseling

can be effective, in particular when it targets academic or personal development issues.


• Consultation:– An indirect service.– Involves collaboration with stakeholders to help

address students’ needs.– A process of directly working with a second party

(consultee) to help a third party (the student).– Goal of consultation: to help consultees learn

information or improve skills that will enable them to interact more effectively with others.


• The consultation process:1. Identify a purpose.2. Establish a goal.3. Plan strategies to meet the goal.4. Assign responsibilities to carry out the goal.


• Referral– Involves obtaining the help of other professionals (e.g.,

school psychologist, school social worker, community agency) to meet students’ needs.

• Crisis Response– Involves responding to acute situations that require

immediate intervention.– Often includes individuals and resources beyond the

professional school counselor.– Purpose: to diffuse a situation, initiate a healing process, and

assist community members affected by a situation.


• Peer Facilitation– Training students (often called peer helpers) to

use helping skills to assist other students.– Empowers students and teaches them

important leadership skills.

Delivery System: Systems Support

• Provides support in the administration and management of the school counseling program.

• Includes: program management and operations, data analysis, professional development, consultation, collaboration, and teaming.


• Program Management and Operations– The administrative and planning tasks needed

to create and deliver school counseling activities.• Data Analysis– Analyzing student data.– Program evaluation.


• Professional Development– In-service training.– Postgraduate education.– Membership in professional associations.

• Consultation, Collaboration, and Teaming– Partnering with parents, teachers, and community

agencies.– Parent outreach.– Participating on committees and advisory councils.

Management System• Addresses the “when,” “why,” and “on what authority” of

the school counseling program.• Includes: management agreements, advisory council, use

of data, action plans, program calendar, and distinctions between appropriate and inappropriate uses of time.

Management System• Management Agreements:

– Documents who is responsible for various aspects of the school counseling program.

• Advisory Council: The School Counseling Program Advisory Committee (SCPAC)– Serves as a sounding board and steering committee: helps

locate funding, make recommendations, and review accountability measures and data.

– Should convene at least twice each year.– Should include influential members and decision-makers (e.g.,

principal, school administrators).– Influential parents, teachers, resource persons (e.g., school

psychologist, school social worker), and community leaders should be invited to join.

Management System• Use of Data– Collect and disaggregate data to identify systemic

issues that interfere with equity in achievement.– Monitor student progress.

• Action Plans– Detail strategies for achieving an important

outcome.– Two types of action plans: school guidance

curriculum action plans and closing the gap action plans.

Management System• Calendars– Weekly, monthly, and annual calendars can be used to:

• Plan for essential elements of the school counseling program.• Advertise events and services.• Demonstrate a school counselor’s work to the principal.

• Use of Time– Encourages professional school counselors to use time logs

to determine how much time they spend providing various services.

– Details both appropriate and inappropriate uses of time for school counselors.

Management SystemAppropriate Activities Inappropriate Activities

Designing individual student academic programs.

Registering and scheduling all new students.

Counseling students with excessive tardiness or absenteeism.

Signing excuses for students who are tardy or absent.

Counseling students with disciplinary problems.

Performing disciplinary actions.

Collaborating with teachers to present guidance curriculum lessons.

Teaching classes when teachers are absent.

Interpreting student records. Maintaining student records.

Ensuring that records are kept in accordance with state and federal regulations.

Clerical record keeping.

Assisting the school principal in identifying and resolving student issues.

Assisting with duties in the principal’s office.

Accountability System• Answers the question: “How are students different

as a result of the program?”• Includes: results reports, performance standards,

and performance audits.• Results Reports:– Outcomes assessments that document changes (i.e.,

academic performance changes as a result of participation in a study-skills group).

Accountability System• Performance Standards:– All local and job expectations to help assess one’s

skill in implementing a comprehensive, developmental school counseling program.

• Performance Audits:– Conducted to ensure that the school counseling

program aligns with some set of standards.

Roles of Other School Personnel

• The counselor is but one player in a team effort.• Teachers:– Can serve as valuable allies, as well as referral sources

for children in need of counseling services.– Must be properly prepared and motivated to help

students meet the school counseling program’s competencies.

– Failure to establish positive working relationships with teachers can affect access to that teachers’ students and limit a counselor’s ability to implement the classroom guidance curriculum.

Roles of Other School Personnel• Resource Teachers:

– Possess special expertise that make them invaluable consultants and referral sources.

– Connecting with these teachers ensures that all students receive the benefit of the school counseling program.

• Principals and Assistant Principals:– Contribute to many important facets of the school counseling

program, such as facilitating a needs assessment and program evaluation.

– Defend the counselor from role diffusion and non-counseling activities.

Roles of Other School Personnel• School Psychologists:– Help address the needs of a school’s most

serious cases.• School Social Workers:– Invaluable sources of information on families

and communities.– Serve as liaisons between the school and public

health facilities.

Roles of Other School Personnel

• School Nurses:– A valuable ally to school counselors on developmental

matters (i.e., hygiene, personal safety, and physical and sexual development).

– Can serve as referral and information sources.• Secretaries:– Often among the first to encounter parents and students in

crisis.– The manner in which secretaries respond to situations

speaks volumes about the school climate.

ConclusionThe ASCA National Model has provided a unified identify for the profession and improved the delivery of services.

Professional school counselors must work in partnership with stakeholders and other school personnel to best meet students’ diverse needs.